Backfire (9 page)

It was also the first time he had seen his mother so relaxed.  She never did admit it out loud, but he knew she was even more hesitant and scared than he was about seeing how Casey truly was doing.  Already, they knew that this time felt different and actually was. 

He noticed their bags coming down the conveyor belt and grabbed them before they passed by.  They were led outside to an SUV that had an Austin Recovery business logo on the side door.  Casey introduced the other two men as Gary and Todd.  Todd was his counselor and to help with comparisons, said he was a lot like a sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous programs. 

The drive wasn’t too long, and took them on the outskirts of Austin.  It was refreshing to travel and not see high-rise buildings everywhere.  Trees and hills were a pleasant view, and though in some places traffic was bad, it was nothing near what they saw in New York. 

They pulled down the road that housed all the patients in the Austin Recovery program, and if a person didn’t know where they were or where they were going, it could easily have been mistaken for a nice resort.  Trees lined the road and the grass was green, masking any sign of the drought they were experiencing.  They pulled the vehicle into a nearby parking lot next to a building that looked like several condos lined up.  The whole time, Michael couldn’t help but notice how enthusiastic Casey was as he pointed out things along the way.  He was proud of the place and it was the best feeling in seeing him have a purpose and do something fulfilling.

“I understand why you don’t wanna leave, man, this place looks awesome.” Michael said as they got out.  There was a small hint of smoke in the air.  “How close is the nearest fire to here right now?”

Casey pulled their luggage out of the back and shrugged.  “Last I heard, there was one over near Bastrop, which is about thirty minutes from here.”

“Yeah, that’s the one I kept hearing about on the news.”

“You should go talk to some of the departments around here.  Most of the people fighting the fires are just with volunteer departments.  It hasn’t been a good situation.”

Michael scoffed.  “What the hell am I supposed to talk to them about? It’s a whole different type of firefighting.”

“I don’t know. Just might be something to do later on if you have time. Let’s go inside.  I want to introduce you to my roommate and some of the friends I’ve made.”

***

By the time they got done being introduced to everyone and getting a tour of Casey’s area, Michael felt like he was going through the program as well.  One of the counselors gave them an itinerary of events that would happen over the next few days, and Michael wasn’t thrilled about some of them. 

They finally got dinner a little after six, and after a day of traveling, they were all starved and exhausted.  Casey was right about the food.  They sat in one of the many dining areas and were served steak, baked potatoes, beans, and salad. 

“So, the schedule for tomorrow looks interesting,” Eva said as she skimmed a finger over the times.  “This is an awesome experience.  I’ve always wondered how these places work.  I watch those shows like Intervention and they never really go into depth about it.”

Michael wiped his face clean and looked at the paper with her.  “I don’t know if I’m going to share the same enthusiasm as you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nine AM we have to go to a meet and greet.  Ten o’clock is activity time. Then we sit through a lecture on coping with an addict in recovery. Not my idea of fun.”

“The point of it all is to see what a day is like for Casey.  You being here doing this is extra support.  It’ll be okay. You need to come out of your shell.” Eva pushed her plate away and Michael
saw Casey walking back to them
, a skinny and haggard looking woman at his side.  “Casey’s back, so can the negative comments.”

“Wow Casey, introduce me to your friend.”  The woman sat right next to Michael and scooted her chair as close as it would get to his.  He didn’t want to seem rude, so he stayed where he was, wanting to stand up and back away.  It was evident that she had been a long time addict. 

“
Uhh
, Tara, this is Michael, my brother. The lady next to him is Eva, his girlfriend, and that’s our mom,
Betty
.”

Tara paid no attention to the other two as they were introduced.  She kept her eyes on Michael and let out a
high-pitched
giggle.  “Oh, this is Michael, huh?  The firefighter from New York.  Damn Casey, you never told me he was so cute.”

It was possibly the most awkward situation Michael had ever been in.  Looking at her from the corner of his eye, he forced a smile and was no longer worried about moving away from her.

“He’s not exactly my type, Tara.”  Casey looked at Michael with an apologetic expression. 

“Well he’s certainly my type.”

“Everyone’s your type.  Get up.  I introduced you to my family, now you gotta introduce me to yours.”

Michael glanced at Eva who had her face turned and ducked, a smirk parting her lips as if she were right on the brink of laughing out loud.  Too bad he wasn’t finding it nearly as funny as his mother and girlfriend were.  Tara got up and patted the back of Michael’s hand.

“Can’t wait to get to know you better.”  She still made no attempt to acknowledge the two women at the table.

Clearing his throat, Michael nodded.  “Nice meeting you.”  His tone was full of sarcasm and somehow he was sure that Tara didn’t catch on.  After she was out of earshot, h
e turned to Eva and forced a fake laugh
.  “How in the hell was that funny?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of her.  You should take it as a compliment, Mikey.  She’s smitten.” 

He jabbed his knife into what was left of the meat on his plate.  “Oh yeah, real flattering.  A ninety-pound drug addict finds me attractive.  Just put me in GQ magazine, why don’t you?”

Casey came back to the table and sat down, thankfully alone this time.  “Sorry about that, Mike.  She’s a heroin and sex addict.  Usually they keep them separate from us.”

“So Casey, what do we have to look forward to tomorrow?” Michael was in desperate need to change the subject.  “I noticed there is one point in time where we have to sit through a therapy session with you.”

Nodding, Casey took a long swig of tea.  “Yeah, they want us to go through some family therapy sessions and let things air out.  It’s another way they think it’ll help me cope with stuff.  They told me part of my problem is that I let it all bottle up inside, and my release has always been drug use.  This will be a good alternative.”

“Gosh, I didn’t realize we were going to be
doing
that kind of stuff here. I was under the assumption that we were to come down just to visit and scope the place out.” Mich
ael didn’t want to sound angry
and it was all coming out more bitter than he had anticipated. 

“Oh, Mikey, quit bellyaching.  It won’t be that big of a deal, and it’s for your brother.”  Their mom patted Casey’s hand.  “I think it’ll be good for all of us. I need to get more educated on what you’re going through to understand it anyway.”

“Sorry, not meaning to sound hateful.  I’ve just had about enough of bullshit therapy is all.”

“This will be different,” Casey replied. 

***

Michael didn’t know how tired he was until he woke up the next morning and realized he had slept the entire night.  Eva was up and fixing her hair.  Leaning in, he gave her a small peck on the lips.  He felt nervous for the events ahead.  What was the family therapy session going to be like?  Were they each going to vent away about things they disliked about each other?

He sat on the edge of the bed and turned the TV on.  News of the Bastrop fire was plastered on the screen with scrolling marquees displaying warnings that a mandatory evacuation was taking place.  The thought of an entire town being threatened made Michael sick to his stomach, and the fact that it was just thirty miles east made him feel even worse. Here he was, sitting in a nice room with a soft bed and shower right in his grasp, and all those men and women were out there fighting the fire with no luxuries within sight, all of them destined to come back to charred ruins of what used to be their homes. 

“Mikey, you better get a shower.  You don’t want to let Tara down.”  Eva winked at him. “Don’t lower your standards!”

“Ha ha, very funny.” He traced his hand down the curve of her hips and kissed the back of her head.  “You gonna fight for me if it comes down to me having to make a decision on who to choose?”

“I’ve got a good thirty pounds on her.  I’m not too worried.”

“We’ll see about that.” He turned her around to face him, his hands cupping her backside as she sat on the counter and wrapped her legs around his waist.  Burying his face in her neck, his lips nipped at her collarbone.  She leaned back to allow him easier a
ccess.  A low mumble vibrated in
her throat.

“Mikey, it’s already almost eight thirty.”

Her comment didn’t stop him and he unbuttoned her shirt as his tongue left a moist spot on her bra. Her fingers pulled at his hair, urging his head upward and away from her body.

“Babe… our first event is at nine.”

Looking up, he let out a deep sigh and let go of her, feeling disappointed as her legs dangled beside him.  “Damn it, there’s just never enough time.”

She ran her hand down the side of his face.  “Get a shower.  I could see them admitting you in here for sex addiction.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

***

To Michael’s surprise, the morning flew by pretty quickly, probably due in large part to him anticipating the family therapy session scheduled for later in the day.  He was also on the lookout for Tara, who he spotted only a few times and was lucky enough to duck out of the way before she saw him.  At the meet and greet she got put into a different group.  For once, he felt luck was on his side.  They were supposed to be at Todd’s office at one o’clock after lunch. 

“You think I should just hang out at our room during the session?” Eva asked Casey. In a way Michael wanted her there, but at the same time he wasn’t sure.  What if they got into deep things he had never told her about?  There wasn’t much she didn’t know.

“You can sit in.  There’s no problem.  You’ve become a big part of my life, too, and this session is about Mikey as well.”

Eva grabbed Michael’s hand.  “I won’t sit in if you don’t want me to.”

“It’s fine.  You’re a part of this family.”

She nodded.  “Okay. If it gets too awkward or something, just tell me to leave.  It won’t hurt my feelings at all.”

Todd invited them in at one on the dot.  The office was bigger than expected, with no desk or barriers between his and their chairs.  He was a small man with glasses and a spiky hairdo.  When Michael first saw him at the airport, he got good vibes off of him. 

“So, this is the McGinnis family?”  He extended his hand out for each of them to shake.  “I’m Todd Sullivan. I’ve been Casey’s counselor slash sponsor since he has gotten here.”

Each one of them introduced themselves and even though Michael still felt nervous, a lot of the tension had been wiped away.  Todd seemed like a normal, average guy and not like the cliché therapists his imagination had conjured up.  He felt like he liked Todd even better than Dr. Bowen and he had just met the guy.

“One thing Casey and I have been doing in our personal therapy sessions is talking about memories t
hat aren’t too pleasant in hope
s to get it out in the open.  It’s the type of memories that give
him the urge to go use with the intention of numbing
everything.  Before we start, I just want to make sure my information is correct.” Todd adjusted his glasses and skimmed over a clipboard on his lap.  “Michael, you are an alcoholic, correct?”

His question was like a punch to his gut. “Yeah. Recovering alcoholic.”

“That’s good. How many months sober?”

Michael hadn’t really kept count.  He never got the point of it all.  Who cares, as long as he knew personally that he wasn’t drinking? It was as if people knew the exact date so they could go out and brag.  “I’m not sure, exactly.”

Todd glanced at him.  “Ball park figure.”

“I drank during our stuff with Viper, so however long ago that was, I guess.”

Todd jotted some notes down.  “Okay. Didn’t mean to put you on the spot, but as you all will soon realize, that’s what is going to happen.” He clicked his pen shut, set the clipboard aside, and moved forward in his chair.  “I’m gonna have Casey start talking about things we’ve gone over and allow for you guys to chime in.” He motioned toward Casey.

“One thing that Todd and I have realized is that the root of my problems is the death of dad.”  He looked up from the floor, almost as if he felt guilty for even speaking that word in the presence of their mother, like it was a bad word that should never even be thought about.  “I was only eleven and was confused.  Mikey, you were fourteen.  Ma, this isn’t a jab at your parenting skills at all, but I feel things could have been so much different if dad were around for our teenage years.”